England and GB's Dixon wins HIL final

England and Great Britain's Adam Dixon won the prestigious Hockey India League with Kalinga Lancers this weekend.

In Sunday's final against Dabang Mumbai, Dixon's side raced into a 3-0 half time lead and ran out 4-1 winners in a comprehensive victory.

Speaking on Friday, Adam said, "The HIL has been a great learning experience. Exposure to different coaching and playing styles has definitely helped me to progress as a player. The Kalinga Lancers are made up of representatives from Australia, Germany, The Netherlands, India and I fly the flag solo for England. We try and play attacking hockey, as favoured by the Australians and Indians, whilst us Europeans tend to emphasise the importance of playing from a solid defensive platform."

This summer, Adam's England will play in the World League Semi-Final in London, and India, Pakistan, Argentina and Holland are already confirmed to take part.

Dixon said, "I always look forward to playing internationals on home soil and I was thrilled when London was announced as a host of the FIH World League Semi Finals. England Hockey organise some of the best international hockey events that we get the chance to attend. With the added prize of World Cup qualification on the line, the pressure will be firmly on us as a team but we hope that the home advantage and amazing crowd support will give us the edge.

"The event will also showcase many of the talents from the Hockey India League. My teammates Billy Bakker, Matt Dawson and SK Uthappa will be ones for us to keep a close eye on in London."

To book tickets for the World League between 15th and 25th June, click here.